NASCAR Betting: NRA 500

Back atop the Sprint Cup Series driver standings, Jimmie Johnson is the favorite on the NASCAR betting odds at the sportsbooks this week to win the NRA 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Johnson is the +500 favorite at TopBet to take the checkered flag at the NRA 500 on Saturday night after he won the STP Gas Booster 500 at Martinsville Speedway last weekend. That moved Johnson into first place in the driver standings, where he has a six-point lead on Brad Keselowski.

Kyle Busch is next at +600 odds at TopBet for this weekend's race, followed by both Keselowski and Greg Biffle at +700 odds. Biffle won the April race at Texas Motor Speedway last season, when it was still called the Samsung Mobile 500.

Carl Edwards sits at +1000 odds for Saturday night's race, with each of Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart, and Jeff Gordon at +1200 odds. Clint Bowyer and Dale Earnhardt Jr. hold down +1500 odds at TopBet for the NRA 500, with Earnhardt Jr. 12 points behind Johnson in third place in the current standings.

Kevin Harvick rounds out the top tier of contenders on the odds to win the NRA 500 this week at +1800, while Martin Truex Jr. and Brian Vickers sit at +2500, and Mark Martin and Joey Logano are listed at +3000. Danica Patrick is a longshot at +10000.

Busch, Biffle, Kahne, Edwards, Bowyer, Paul Menard, Kenseth, Logano, and Gordon make up the rest of the current Top 12 in the Sprint Cup Series driver standings.

After a one-week break the drivers of NASCAR are anxious to power up their engines and turn up the heat as they head into the seventh race of the season on Saturday night, the Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Tony Stewart has never won the Samsung Mobile 500, but his two victories this season on the heels of last season’s championship makes him a threat in any race and he leads the favorites list at TopBet at 6/1 odds for the race. Stewart currently sits in third place in the driver standings.

Matt Kenseth is the two-time and reigning champion of the Samsung Mobile 500 and is tied with Stewart in the driver standings. TopBet has Kenseth at 7/1 on the Sprint Cup Series odds for this race at Texas Motor Speedway.

Jimmie Johnson hasn’t taken the checkered flag yet this year, but he has been inside the Top 10 in four of the first six races. Johnson is also at 7/1 on the NASCAR betting lines, along with last year’s Chase runner-up and 2008 Samsung 500 winner Carl Edwards.

Kyle Busch hasn’t been much of a threat this season, but he is a highly-touted racer and is at 8/1 at TopBet. Greg Biffle is the early leader in the Sprint Cup Series standings and won the race at Texas Motor Speedway in 2005; TopBet has Biffle next at 10/1 odds. Jeff Gordon captured a win at the Samsung 500 in 2009 and is also at 10/1 odds for the race.

Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Kasey Kahne, and Kevin Harvick are clustered together on the betting board for this weekend and sit at 12/1 odds - only Hamlin and Kahne have won the race here at the Texas Motor Speedway before.

Jeff Burton won’t even get a look from many NASCAR bettors this weekend, but does he have the confidence to take this race? Burton is a longshot at 60/1 odds, but he did win here in 1997 and again in 2007. Burton also has two Top-10 finishes so far in 2012.

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